"FALLING REIGN"
Author: Douglas S. Schofield
Nova Scotia, Canada
Author: Douglas S. Schofield
Nova Scotia, Canada
https://douglasschofield.com/
SYNOPSIS
April 17, 1759 – Richmond, England
A chaise carriage thunders through the night. The Earl of Bute is racing to stop a marriage. The intended groom is the Prince of Wales. The young Royal is first in line to the British throne. The intended bride is an attractive woman, ten years older than the Prince. Her name is Hannah Lightfoot. She is a Quaker, and . . . a commoner.
The Earl’s carriage arrives too late.
September 6, 1997 – Bayonne, New Jersey
Across the world, billions of people sit glued to the broadcast of Princess Diana’s funeral. Surgical resident Dr. Emma Parks watches the somber proceedings over her morning coffee, then hurries to get ready for work. She expects today’s shift in the ER to be no different from any other . . . fixing broken bodies, one emergency at a time.
But Emma couldn’t be more wrong. Today, she’ll discover a lover’s betrayal. Today, she’ll save a man's life using a procedure she was never trained for. Today, she’ll receive a mysterious telephone call from a London journalist. And, today, she’ll be suspended from her job.
But that’s just today . . .
Tomorrow, the journalist who called her from London will be murdered—and the killer's next target will be Dr. Emma Parks.
After a terrifying high-speed chase through the streets of Bayonne, she falls into the hands of Victor Dawson, a powerful British media magnate. A team led by Carl Juneau, Dawson's security chief, and Henry Leggatt, his executive assistant, abducts Emma and flies her to England on a private jet. Within hours of landing, Juneau saves Emma from an assassin's bullet—the same killer she had eluded in New Jersey.
Emma now understands that Dawson, Juneau, and Leggatt aren't the enemy—they are determined to protect her.
Emma Parks had always figured her life was pretty ordinary, but she has just learned how extraordinary it really is. Locked away for her own protection in her billionaire abductor’s country estate, the pace of events ramps up. As a surgeon, with an exceptional facility for thinking quickly under pressure, she is able to analyze her unfolding dilemma and make astute moves to navigate its complexities. In the process, she draws Juneau closer to her side, helping her to feel safer, and generating an ever-deepening bond between them.
Without warning, Emma is taken into custody by British police on the pretext of an American extradition warrant, only to find herself transported to Windsor as the guest of Queen Elizabeth.
After an astonishing conversation with the Queen, she departs Windsor—only to find herself once again targeted for death. In the secret crypt of her ancestor, Hannah Lightfoot, deep under Buckingham Palace, she single-handedly defeats the dark figure behind the multiple attempts on her life. And Emma Parks is stunned by the malefactor’s identity.
It is Henry Leggatt.
In the wake of all this, Emma’s identity, and her indomitable character, become the focus of sensational news coverage on both sides of the Atlantic. Her very existence causes a political crisis, and triggers a dramatic and unprecedented judicial hearing before the British House of Lords. And the issues before the tribunal could not be more critical:
Is the Royal Family directly descended from a bigamous marriage?
Is Emma Parks MD, American citizen, the sole legitimate descendant of King George III?
Will this obscure quirk of genealogy change forever the story the British nation has told itself?
Note 1:
This screenplay is based on a simple thread of propositions: What if Prince George’s marriage to Hannah Lightfoot (of which written records do exist) was legitimate? What if she bore him a child during their marriage? What if the last surviving descendent of that lawful union was a young American emergency room doctor working in New Jersey? What if, on the heels of Princess Diana’s funeral, when the Royal Family was being held up to scorn across the world for its notorious ill treatment of Diana, a billionaire media mogul decided to exploit this unwitting doctor’s claim to the British throne? And what if that move unleashed a violent reaction from unseen forces within the British establishment, placing her life in grave danger?
Note 2: Actor Billy Boyd (Lord of the Rings; Outlander, etc.) has read the screenplay and met with the author. He wishes to play Henry Leggatt.
April 17, 1759 – Richmond, England
A chaise carriage thunders through the night. The Earl of Bute is racing to stop a marriage. The intended groom is the Prince of Wales. The young Royal is first in line to the British throne. The intended bride is an attractive woman, ten years older than the Prince. Her name is Hannah Lightfoot. She is a Quaker, and . . . a commoner.
The Earl’s carriage arrives too late.
September 6, 1997 – Bayonne, New Jersey
Across the world, billions of people sit glued to the broadcast of Princess Diana’s funeral. Surgical resident Dr. Emma Parks watches the somber proceedings over her morning coffee, then hurries to get ready for work. She expects today’s shift in the ER to be no different from any other . . . fixing broken bodies, one emergency at a time.
But Emma couldn’t be more wrong. Today, she’ll discover a lover’s betrayal. Today, she’ll save a man's life using a procedure she was never trained for. Today, she’ll receive a mysterious telephone call from a London journalist. And, today, she’ll be suspended from her job.
But that’s just today . . .
Tomorrow, the journalist who called her from London will be murdered—and the killer's next target will be Dr. Emma Parks.
After a terrifying high-speed chase through the streets of Bayonne, she falls into the hands of Victor Dawson, a powerful British media magnate. A team led by Carl Juneau, Dawson's security chief, and Henry Leggatt, his executive assistant, abducts Emma and flies her to England on a private jet. Within hours of landing, Juneau saves Emma from an assassin's bullet—the same killer she had eluded in New Jersey.
Emma now understands that Dawson, Juneau, and Leggatt aren't the enemy—they are determined to protect her.
Emma Parks had always figured her life was pretty ordinary, but she has just learned how extraordinary it really is. Locked away for her own protection in her billionaire abductor’s country estate, the pace of events ramps up. As a surgeon, with an exceptional facility for thinking quickly under pressure, she is able to analyze her unfolding dilemma and make astute moves to navigate its complexities. In the process, she draws Juneau closer to her side, helping her to feel safer, and generating an ever-deepening bond between them.
Without warning, Emma is taken into custody by British police on the pretext of an American extradition warrant, only to find herself transported to Windsor as the guest of Queen Elizabeth.
After an astonishing conversation with the Queen, she departs Windsor—only to find herself once again targeted for death. In the secret crypt of her ancestor, Hannah Lightfoot, deep under Buckingham Palace, she single-handedly defeats the dark figure behind the multiple attempts on her life. And Emma Parks is stunned by the malefactor’s identity.
It is Henry Leggatt.
In the wake of all this, Emma’s identity, and her indomitable character, become the focus of sensational news coverage on both sides of the Atlantic. Her very existence causes a political crisis, and triggers a dramatic and unprecedented judicial hearing before the British House of Lords. And the issues before the tribunal could not be more critical:
Is the Royal Family directly descended from a bigamous marriage?
Is Emma Parks MD, American citizen, the sole legitimate descendant of King George III?
Will this obscure quirk of genealogy change forever the story the British nation has told itself?
Note 1:
This screenplay is based on a simple thread of propositions: What if Prince George’s marriage to Hannah Lightfoot (of which written records do exist) was legitimate? What if she bore him a child during their marriage? What if the last surviving descendent of that lawful union was a young American emergency room doctor working in New Jersey? What if, on the heels of Princess Diana’s funeral, when the Royal Family was being held up to scorn across the world for its notorious ill treatment of Diana, a billionaire media mogul decided to exploit this unwitting doctor’s claim to the British throne? And what if that move unleashed a violent reaction from unseen forces within the British establishment, placing her life in grave danger?
Note 2: Actor Billy Boyd (Lord of the Rings; Outlander, etc.) has read the screenplay and met with the author. He wishes to play Henry Leggatt.
Awards Won
December 25, 2022 - Page Turner Screenplays (Santa Monica, Calif.) – Award winner
January 7, 2023 – Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift (Toronto, Ontario) – Best Unproduced script for a long feature film
January 31, 2023 – Best Script Awards (London, UK) – Grand Prix Winner, Best Feature Script
February 21, 2025 – Oxford Script Awards (Oxford, UK) – Best Feature Screenplay
March 27 2025 — WRPN.tv Screenplay Competition – Platinum Award